Good evening.  Well, as we continue this evening to work our way through Genesis, we come to Genesis chapters 29 and 30.  If you want to go ahead turn there with me, I will open our time with a word of prayer and then we will get started with our study for this evening.  Let’s Pray

When you were younger, where did you go to meet the opposite sex?

Well, in our first passage this evening, we see Jacob finding the opposite sex at this well and immediately falling in love with one of them.  Let’s go ahead and read this passage.  Whoever has the first 3 keys, go ahead and read them for us at this time.  (READ 29:1-30)

Well, after deceiving his father to get the blessing intended for his brother Esau, Jacob was running away from Esau’s wrath.  He was also instructed by his parents to go and marry one of his Uncle Laban’s daughters, rather than marry a Canaanite woman.  And that is exactly what he tries to do.  That is where we picked up with this story.  Let’ get a deeper look at this story.

What I am going to do this evening,  is read the sections, do our discussion, and because this story goes through both chapters, I will wait until the end to read what my commentary has to say about them.  So let’s move on and take a look at several questions brought out in this chapter.

Jacob is able to move a huge stone by his self.  What might the power of love energize you to do?

How important are family ties and a common faith to you in your choice of a mate?

What else matters to you in this regard?

What is the biggest practical joke you have ever seen?

What is the irony in the younger/older role reversal?

Who do you think felt worse, Jacob, Leah, or Rachel, and why?

What do you think was the real reason Laban tricked Jacob and gave his Leah instead of Rachel?

How do you think the scheme worked?  Jacob didn’t recognize that it was Leah and not Rachel, why?

When like Jacob, have you had to suffer such delays in getting what you want?

Who do you think ended up with he best deal in this story and why?

What is it that you are waiting for in your life right now?

Does anyone have anything that they would like to add before we move on?

Okay, well let’s move on and take a look at the rest of chapter 29, and the first part of chapter 30.  Before we do that though, Tell me what size of families you grew up in?

Alright then, whoever has the next 2 keys, go ahead and read them for us.  (READ 29:31-30:24)

Well, Jacob traveled to his Uncle Laban’s home in hopes of gaining a wife.  Jacob fell in love with Laban’s younger daughter Rachel and agreed to work for him for 7 years in exchange for her hand in marriage.  But at the end of the 7 years, Laban deceived Jacob and gave him Leah, his other daughter instead.  However, Laban agreed to allow Jacob to marry his other daughter too, under the condition that Jacob would work for him for another 7 years?

What does this passage sound like to you?  (Soap Opera)

In what sense are Jacob’s troubles his own fault?

Why do you think that God decided to accomplish so much through such an imperfect family?

When in your misery has God showed you kindness like He did for Leah?

If you could have advised each of these women, what would you have told them?

Does anyone have anything that they would like to add about this section?

Okay, at this time, let’s move on and finish the rest of chapter 30.  Whoever has that last key, please finish the chapter for us please.  (READ 30:25-43)

Knowing his scheming son-in-law as he does, what precautions does Laban take after agreeing to the plan?

What is the biggest lesson that you can learn from this last passage?

Well, at this time I would like to simply read what the commentary had to say about both of these chapters.  I think that it has some real good points to gain from these chapters and apply to our lives.  Here is what it had to say.  (READ COMMENTARY)

Well, does anyone have anything that they would like to add about what we have looked at tonight before we close?

Well, if there is nothing else, in order to be ready for next week, look over chapters 31 and 32.  That is what we will be discussing next week.  Let me warn you, chapter 31 is 55 verses long, but chapter 32 is pretty short, so we should be able to get through both in our next meeting.

Now before we close, let me just end with a word of prayer.  Let’s pray.